Samsung: 3D Blu-ray exclusives scrapped

Samsung UK is to look for ways to add value to its 3D TV and Blu-ray products other than exclusive content deals with studios and their 3D Blu-ray portfolios.

Consumers have long complained that deals between movie studios and CE companies, restricting 3D Blu-ray releases to give-aways with new equipment, have hamstrung the format before it has had a chance to take root.

And while Samsung doesn't exactly agree that 3D uptake has been hampered by content exclusivity, it has suggested to Pocket-lint that those days have come to an end, at least for the UK: "[Exclusivity deals are] managed on a global basis, so there may well be discussions by them on that," said Andy Griffiths, vice president of consumer electronics UK.

"But while we are working with all of the studios on a local basis, to try different things and come in at different levels on that, exclusivity isn’t a major feature for us in Britain."

This comes after a strong Christmas for Samsung's 3D TV division, which bundled a range of 3D Blu-ray discs with products, including the entire Shrek trilogy in three-dimensions for the first time. However, it was the introduction of a different source of content that Griffiths believes helped drive sales, Sky's new 3D channel: "We’re thrilled with [3D]. We’ve got about 70 per cent of the market in the UK. So we’re the number one brand," he said.

"There was a lot of interest back in the spring [of 2010], when we were first to market, and, of course, it was quite a slow burner those first few weeks as people got used to the idea. I felt it was as they started to look for content.

"So one of the first real kicks we saw was with the start of the Sky channel. That gave people a lot of confidence in terms of having regular 3D content. We saw a huge jump in the last quarter of 2010 [in sales of 3D TVs]. And that’s really when the market started to catch fire."

But he thinks that, as more and more content becomes available, sale will continue to rise: "Certainly, the debate continues about the breadth of content that’s available to people, so obviously as it becomes more interesting, people will become more and more confident about the format."

And eliminating the exclusivity of 3D Blu-ray titles will undoubtedly help.

Are you pleased to see the back of exclusive 3D Blu-ray deals? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below...

Our senior ed of news and features has been a tech and games journalist for more than 27 years, and has been with Pocket-lint for over five. Rik has edited a number of videogame magazines in the past, was deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice, and his TV career included stints as co-presenter of Channel 4's Gamesmaster and Sky One’s Games World.